


Professor L and the Case of the Reverse Cake Burglar

by Zara_Zara



Series: Lawlight Week 2020 [2]
Category: Death Note (Anime & Manga)
Genre: AU - alternate universe, Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, Baker!Light, Fluff, M/M, Professor!L, Romantic Comedy, i try ok?, lol
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-25
Updated: 2020-04-25
Packaged: 2021-03-01 22:34:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,696
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23824645
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zara_Zara/pseuds/Zara_Zara
Summary: The professors’ break room was like any other break room until it wasn’t.Heavenly cakes, cookies, and tarts miraculously started appearing in the university’s staff room and there was no one who was more delighted and intrigued by the situation than one Professor L.
Relationships: L/Yagami Light
Series: Lawlight Week 2020 [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1715836
Comments: 10
Kudos: 129





	Professor L and the Case of the Reverse Cake Burglar

**Author's Note:**

> This is my fic for the second prompt of Lawlight week 2020! The prompt was Sweetness/bitterness and I decided to go more on the sweet side haha. Also, my friend helped me with the title. :)
> 
> Sorry for any typos.

The professors’ break room was like any other break room until it wasn’t. Admittedly, it had above average furniture and amenities due to the prestigious university it was situated in, but it had never truly been special until the mysterious deserts from the heaven’s decided to grace the very tired and busy lives of the university professors. 

The cakes, cookies, and tarts that would have doubtlessly been on the menu of some priceless Michelin-star restaurant miraculously started appearing in the university’s staff room as if by magic. Or as if there were some fever dream miraculously realized. Deserts of all sorts with origins from all over the world graced the normally bland table of snacks and fruits that were meant for the professors. The deserts were seriously high-quality; there were beautiful designs etched onto the flats of cookies and the waists of cakes: flowers, stars, geometric shapes, and even watercolor scenes danced on all of these deserts. Impossibly, the flavors of the delicacies matched the level of the artwork, and it was a hot source of gossip for all of the staff as they wondered just _who_ kept delivering such deserts to their staff room.

One tired and busy professor treasured them to the point of claiming that they were the only things that kept him sane on that mortal coil, and that his teaching abilities were directly proportional to the amount of desert he consumed from The Baker.

The sweets would only appear every other day or so. And like a love-struck fool, Professor L’s heart leaped into his throat each time his eyes landed on them. He was not a man prone to fits of poetry, but those desserts _spoke_ to him. He felt like he knew The Baker just by eating what they created. The spices in the cakes were powerful but they weren't overstated; he felt that that meant that the baker was someone with a big presence but were generally reserved in nature. L usually liked his things on the sugary side, but he somehow didn't mind the The Baker's restrained use of sugar. The frosting on the cakes tended to be sweet but not extremely so, it tended to perfectly blend with the flavors of the rest of the delicacy that it rested atop. L sensed that this meant that The Baker was confident in their own skills and didn't feel compelled to go the easier route in things; for, sugar is a very easy way to mask blunders. L felt an extreme amount of respect for The Baker and his colleagues learned the hard way to never ask him about his suspicions on The Baker unless they wanted to sit down for an unofficial lecture.

One fine morning when the morning sun was shining through the staff windows and washing everything in gold, L nearly had a heart attack when he saw the most beautiful sight in the world: a strawberry cake. What a perfect way to start the day with his favorite cake in the world. As his hand shook in anticipation, L cut a slice of the cake and two things happened the moment he took his first bite of it: he blacked out momentarily, and a resolve thick as steel flared up within him to find the baker at any and all costs. 

After L taught his classes, he thought of what he already knew. He knew that the deserts from The Baker were delivered to the staff room sometime before 6 a.m. because that’s when L arrived to the university and the deserts were always there before him. The only people who could get into the staff room were other professors, custodians, and some other university staff. But for the sake of limiting down his scope, he decided to hypothesize that it was a fellow professor who was brought the deserts because the general staff were the ones responsible for the ordinary, banal snacks and food provided by the university for the professors. And it seemed highly unlikely that a custodian would be the one bringing them such deserts because they weren’t responsible for those sorts of things. 

With that in mind, he drafted a fairly simple plan to go to the staff room before The Baker or their courier. 

For the occasion, he pulled an all-nighter and arrived at the university before the sun rose. He knew he was going to have to drink a lot of coffee in order to meet up to his usual standards of teaching, but he had planned on giving all of his classes a quiz and group work in anticipation of this. When he approached the staff room door he noticed that the lights were off. So, he arrived earlier than The Baker. That’s alright. He anticipated such a thing and brought his laptop so he could work on it while he awaited their arrival. 

When it reached 5:30 a.m. L heard the sound of steps from the hallway outside. The university was much quieter than usual due to the early hour and the sound of those steps sounded very loud. His heart started to race and L belatedly realized he had no idea what he was going to say to The Baker when he saw them.

The door opened and the lights in the staff room snapped on sensing the movement in the room and then someone screamed in surprise. A woman stood there in shock and upon sighting L apologized profusely for her reaction. However, the thing that L immediately noticed was a large pink box in her hands. 

L leaped to his feet like a child on Christmas day, “It’s you! You’re The Baker!” Excited, he advanced on her, “Who are you? Why have you been bringing those delicious, wonderful, desserts here? I have so many questions and you must answer them now,” He stared at her expectantly.

The young woman---he noted she looked like a student—-blinked at him in a truly stupefied manner, “Um.”

L realized that he basically just interrogated her immediately upon sight and if he wanted answers he was going to have to be courteous. L reached for the box, hardly believing that he’s finally met The Baker, “Here, I’ll take that for you,” The woman let go of it easily enough and L hugged it to himself; completely unlike the way he typically held things at arm's length. This was far too precious for that.

L scampered off to the snack table and delicately placed the box on it. He began to lift the lid, eager to see what’s inside, “You don’t mind if I see what’s inside, do you?” The smell of cinnamon hit him and L didn’t wait for an answer. “My God. You’ve done it again,” The cake was beautiful as always, “ _Who_ are you?” he breathed.

The girl lingered by the door and nervously brushed her short hair behind her ear, “Oh, I’m Sayu Yagami,” The name didn’t sound familiar. It could be because she taught in a different department from him, but it wouldn’t explain why she had been bringing these treats to this staff room and not her own. She added, “I’m an art teacher here.”

Bingo. But he also couldn’t remember a Sayu Yagami in the culinary arts department because he had checked the list of names. “Culinary arts?” He asked anyway; maybe the information was dated.

“Afraid not, I teach sculpting,” Sayu suddenly smiled, “My brother is the one who does that.”

“He teaches here, too?” 

“No, he’s a baker” She seemed to feel more at ease while speaking about her brother; it made L wonder who he was even more. “He’s been giving me a ton of deserts to sample for my wedding. I obviously can’t keep them all to myself otherwise I won’t be able to fit in my dress,” She giggled, “That’s why I’ve been bringing them here.”

L brought a finger up to his mouth and thoughtfully chewed on it as he took in all that information. How interesting. He’s about to ask her for her brother’s bakery information when she seemed to read his mind, “His bakery isn’t far. Here, I’ll write the address down.” She scribbled the information down on a post it note and handed it to him. 

“Thank you,” L studied the paper and noted that the shop was indeed not far at all. He wondered how he had not visited it before, “He’s really talented.”

“I know,” Sayu grinned and then skipped out of the staff room, “See ya around.”

L grabbed another slice of cake and considered calling in sick so he could go to the bakery early but then decided that he would prefer to build up the anticipation of visiting the place instead.   
  


***

_Light’s Bakery._

He had to admit that that was a bit of an unusual name for a bake shop. It’s either the name of the shop owner---no matter how unusual—-or it had some other meaning that’s not immediately obvious. 

The name of the shop didn’t actually matter to L all that much. He was just stalling his meeting with The Baker, Sayu Yagami’s brother, because the man was just as beautiful as his creations—-L had not been prepared to meet someone as handsome as him. 

L fidgeted outside the shop and pretended to fiddle on his phone. L was no coward and he wasn’t about to turn tail and flee home just because he didn’t want to enter a potentially awkward social interaction with a very handsome man whose baked goods he admired very much---no, that he _loved._ He just...Needed some time to collect himself. Run through some conversation starters, that’s all. 

After more than a couple minutes passed and L decided he was being far too ridiculous. L stepped into the shop. Luckily, Yagami’s attention was on a customer so L let himself gravitate towards the truly stunning ensemble of baked goods and desserts in the bakery’s glass display cases. Muffins, cupcakes, cookies, cakes, and chocolates of all shapes and sizes delighted L’s eyes. He wanted to eat them all. The shop smelled exactly like his version of heaven: sugar, bread, sugar, chocolate, spices, and _sugar_. 

L was in the middle of formulating a plan of attack in regards to which treats he was going to buy that day when the man himself, _The Baker,_ cleared his throat and said, “Welcome. How may I help you?” 

Being met full force with the man’s presence, L momentarily forgot how to breathe. Everything he planned on saying evaporated at the sight of lovely almond-shaped eyes, auburn hair, and high-cheekbones. What really caught L’s attention had been Yagami’s eyes, however. They were bright and and held an obviously sharp intelligence to them that L dearly wanted to explore. 

Returning to the moment, L marveled over the fact that this man was the one who had unknowingly been brightening L’s days with his exquisite deserts and incredible talent. The words, “You’re extraordinary,” burst out of him in an exhale. 

The man’s brown eyes widened in surprise, “Thank you,” He smiled very briefly but then he recollected the calm business-like demeanour he had been wearing before as he said, “You are kind,” He gestured at the display case, “Would you like more time to decide on what you’d like?” 

L ignored that and asked what he had been dying to know, “How do you do it? How do you do all this?”

Yagami blinked at him, “I have the help of some very dedicated staff.” 

Somewhat impatiently, L asked, “I understand that. But you make the recipes, right?” The man nodded, briefly flicking his eyes behind L---likely searching for a customer to attend to, but unfortunately for him, there was no one else besides L and his insatiable need to have his questions answered, “I want to know how.”

The man regarded L curiously as if he didn’t quite know what to make of him, “If you must know, I experiment with different flavors and techniques to make my recipes.”

“Well, they truly are exceptional,” L’s mouth started watering at the memories of everything he had tried so far, “How long have you been baking?”

“About 3 years.”

L’s eyes widened in surprise. _Three years!_ But before he could enquire any further on that the baker said, “Pardon me if I’m wrong, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen you here before?” 

L hastily replied, “Your sister, Miss Sayu, has been bringing the desert samples for her wedding to our staff room,” Yagami nodded, accepting that answer. L said, “Everyone has been admiring your work---I’m sorry, but I don’t think I’ve asked your name?”

“Thank you, sir,” Yagami gave a small gracious bow, “I’m Light Yagami.”

Ah, so the store is named after him. What an unusual name. It suited him nicely, though.

“What’s your name?” 

L blinked out of his brief musings, “Me?”

“Your name?” Light repeated flatly; unimpressed.

It appears that L has been afflicted the pointless question curse he detests so much. It must be the combination of being in the best place in the universe and from being in the presence of the best baker L has encountered. “Right, I’m L.”

Light raised an eyebrow but he thankfully didn’t inquire about his name. He simply asked, “Since you’ve been asking about what I do, can I ask you the same?”

L brought a thumb to his mouth to hide a small smirk. He was starting to like this guy, "By all means, Yagami-kun."

Pleased, Light leaned forward against the display case and L felt himself subconsciously lean closer. If Light noticed this he didn't show. "What do _you_ do, L?" 

"I'm a professor of Russian Literature in King's College."

When he told people about his profession he was used to seeing their faces transform into admiration, but L felt more than gratified to see that Light looked at least a little bit impressed by that. 

"That's awfully dreary," Light noted.

"Indeed, why else do you think I rely on sweets to function?"

Light's eyes crinkled in amusement, and L felt a flutter in his gut. L was going to ask Light something else, but they heard the bell tinkle as another customer walked in. 

Light pushed off the display case and returned to business formality, "Have you decided on what you’d like?” 

Not willing to be dismissed so soon, L said, “Whatever you recommend.”

Light started preparing a to-go bag and diligently said, "My customers usually like to buy my chocolate eclairs, snickerdoodle cookies, or strawberry shortcake cupcakes.”

L slowly said, “Those sound good,” he watched as Light nodded and pivoted to start getting the items. But then L said, “But, I'd like to know what _you_ like?”

"Pardon?" 

"What do you like, Light-kun?" 

Light put a hand on his hip, “I don’t have any favorites.”

“No?”

“I’m not a big fan of sweets.”

Light can’t seem to fail in surprising him. L incredulously asked, “How is that possible?” 

“I like what I do, but not the same way a customer might.”

L's eyes widened, “How do you know if what you make is any good, then?” 

Light flashed him a quick smile with teeth, “I’ve had it on good authority that my desserts are extraordinary." 

L actually found himself blushing. “I’ve decided on what I want,” he blurted.

“Oh?” Light's smile still lingered on his face and L decided he wanted to try and find a way to see it more. 

“Yes, can I buy you dinner?”

Light blinked at him in surprise, “Ok?” And then he seemed even more surprised at himself as a hint of pink graced his cheeks. 

“Wonderful,” L felt as if the room grew momentarily brighter and then he gave Light his information. Within a handful of moments, they decided to meet later that evening.

However, before L left he said, “I would actually like to buy something....Or several things, to be more exact. You might want to get a box because I want a dozen half-moon cookies, one of each thing that contains strawberries, an apricot scone …”

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> A couple of things. Light learned how to bake super fast cause I think he's one of those people who would've just thrown themselves into mastering something full throttle. Also, I didn't wanna make L a prof of something obvious like law and justice. I just wanted to give him something chill like Lit, and Russian lit is neck deep in all that morality and justice thingies right? lol 
> 
> Hope you liked! Comments give me life~ <3
> 
> Thanks for reading!! Come find me at Tumblr @lightsredapple  
> X)


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